The Kidnapping Job
by FiTeamFreeWill
Summary: Parker gets kidnapped by a violent and crazy man from Eliot's past, and the team has to race to get her back. The man wants Eliot in return for Parker. Will they make it out alive? Eliot/Parker established relationship. Rated T for violence, was going to make it M but it's not that bad. Slight angst but mostly romance/adventure. R/R!
1. Chapter 1

**I just started Leverage, so it's probably too soon for me to be writing this, but I had a cool idea and decided to do so anyways. I completely and utterly ship Parker and Eliot, which is probably one of the only ships we don't see in the show. Ah, well. I guess I can be satisfied** with **my fanfiction! There shouldn't be any spoilers, and this isn't really set at a certain time. Please leave a review, they mean the world!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my own character!**

* * *

Eliot was worried about Parker. He hadn't seen her since they fought earlier. Knowing her, she was probably somewhere up high, maybe risking her life again. If something happened to her, he would never forgive himself. It would be all his fault. And, as it turns out, something did happen to her, but it most certainly wasn't his fault...

 **A few hours earlier:**

"Why do you have to be so difficult, Parker?" he growled at her. "We've been keeping our relationship a secret for this long, and it's worked! Why disturb the peace now?"

"Because, Eliot! I'm sick and tired of lying to them. They're practically the only family I've ever stayed with for more than a few months. I don't like lying to them," Parker told him.

"God, Parker! This makes no sense! You're a THIEF! You lie to people for a living! How is this any different?"

"It just is, Eliot. I'm going to be at the ice cream shop when you're ready to apologize," she said curtly.

"When I'm ready to apologize? Are you serious? You're crazier than you are difficult, Darlin'! All those foster parents never seemed to teach you the important things, like how to ask for apologies. I'm not apologizing for anything," he told her. She looked at him, eyes filling with tears.

"That was a low blow, Eliot," she said through a little sob. "You know that's exactly the case. I don't mind it when you call me crazy, but to talk trash about my childhood? I thought you understood how horrible that was for me! And you still used it against me! You should know by now not to talk to me about it. We've been together for four months, for God's sake!"

"Parker-" he interrupted.

"Don't touch me! I never want to see your face again," she said as tears spilled down her face. He looked up, his face awash with shame.

"Parker, I-I didn't mean it, okay?" he said, trying to win her back, but it was too late. She was running out the door sobbing, screaming, "I hate you!" He felt horrible; he hadn't meant to hurt her, not like this. He ran after her, calling her name. He checked everywhere he could think of, but either he wasn't looking hard enough or she was avoiding him. More likely than not, it was the latter. He'd taken a shot at what he knew was the most painful period of her life, even he knew that was low. After about an hour of futile searching, he decided to let her cool off for a while. Maybe she would head back to their place later, and let him apologize. He headed back and wrote out an apology for her, and set about cooking dinner.

 **Present time:**

Parker, perched on a rooftop, finally decided to head home. She'd hidden for long enough, and she was hungry, anyways. She leaped off the roof and landed lithely in the bushes, already heading home. She was about three blocks from the modest house she shared with Eliot, when four guys jumped out of the bushes and grabbed her. She screamed and kicked at them, managing to take out the guys and run. She made it to the front walk and screamed, "Eliot! Help!" He rushed to the front door, but the other guy got to her first. He fired at Eliot, shooting him in the hip, then again in the chest. Parker was aware of someone screaming bloody murder-her?-and a sharp pain in her skull...then, absolutely nothing.

Eliot could only watch in horror as Parker was kidnapped. He tried to struggle to his feet, but he wasn't able to go more than a few feet before collapsing again. The man who grabbed her stared at him, yelling, "Dr. Quintus sends his regards!" Eliot groaned inwardly. Another person from his past trying to hurt him, except this time they had figured out exactly how. Another shot was fired, clipping him in the shoulder, and when he looked back up both Parker and the the guy were gone.

 **Twenty Minutes Later, At the Office:**

It was Nate's day off, and he was desperately trying to enjoy it. Sophie had kept wanting to go out and shop, and Hardison would not stop asking him to try out a new video game he had designed. Thankfully, he had made it clear he didn't want to do either of those things, and was finally able to grab a drink, when, of course, the phone rang.

"Hello?" he said as he picked up the phone.

"Nate, I need you to get down to my place, now," Eliot's voice growled.

"What? Why, what's happened? Are you hurt?" Nate asked worriedly.

"Yes, just get down here! I'll explain when you get here, just bring bandages and medical!" came the reply. The line went dead. Nate, realizing that Eliot would never call him on a day off, hustled to get to his house, bringing Sophie and Hardison up to speed.

"He didn't tell you anything else?" Sophie asked.

"Nothing, just that he needed medical attention." Nate replied.

"Did he sound in pain, or upset?" Hardison questioned.

"Yes, both. Any ideas?" They both shook their heads. Nate pulled up into what he knew was Eliot's driveway. Knots were quickly forming in Nate's stomach, growing tighter as he spied spots of blood on the steps. He climbed the steps and opened the door, not bothering to ring the doorbell. If Eliot was injured, he wasn't going to be able to answer the door. Eliot was laying on the couch, bleeding. He managed a weak smile as they walked in.

"Listen, I have a job for us. We have to take it, there's no other option," Eliot said weakly. Nate looked at him as if her were crazy.

"First let's get you fixed up, Eliot," said Sophie gently as she squatted next to him and started bandaging his wounds. "These aren't all that deep, but you've lost a bit of blood...you'll be weak for a few days but you should still be in fighting condition."

"You aren't listening to me! Parker's been taken by someone from my past. They're trying to get revenge for something I did to them years ago. We need to get her back, now!" he screamed. They all stared at him in shock.

"Why would they go after Parker? Any of us would have worked," Hardison pointed out. Eliot shook his head.

"No, to get to me it would have to be Parker." He then proceeded to explain how Parker and him had been in a secret relationship for the past four months. They stared at him, open-mouthed.

"How did you manage to keep that from us this whole time?" Sophie asked.

"Sneaking around, being thieves, and anyways, it doesn't matter. We need to find her, and kill Quintus!" Eliot said, frustrated they were straying off task.

"Who-who's Quintus?" Hardison asked, feeling as if he had missed something.

"Quintus is someone I was hired to kill a while back...I ruined his business instead. I also cut off his arm, which made his illegal liposuction business a bit difficult to operate. He was kicked out of medical school, but he knew enough to start a back-door plastic surgery operation, and my people found out about it. They sent me to take Quintus out and shut down his business. I couldn't kill him, but I did shut him down, and he hasn't forgiven me since. So, he went after Parker," he explained. Sophie finished up with Eliot, standing up and adding,

"I robbed him once. I believe I took a Van Gogh? Or maybe it was a DaVinci...in any case, he's got a grudge against me too."

"Yeah, I did too! Except I cleaned out one of his accounts, left him a couple thousand dollars lighter and a few hundred thousand in debt," Hardison chimed in.

"He was under investigation from IYS for alleged insurance fraud. It turned out he was innocent, but we put him through a lot during that. I was heading that investigation, and he wasn't too happy with me," Nate added thoughtfully. "I bet Parker robbed him too, and that she was close to Eliot was an added bonus. And since he has a vendetta with all of us, Parker and Eliot especially, he won't hesitate to torture her..." he trailed off.

"Which means we need to find her, now," Eliot finished.

 **Somewhere Dark And Generally Unpleasant:**

Parker awoke with a start. She'd just had the strangest dream, where she and Eliot had fought, and she was kidnapped somehow. She felt a sudden pain in her neck, and moved her arms to try and fix it. Oddly enough, when she tried to move her arms, she found they were cuffed to a chair, which was the source of her aching neck.

Cold realization washed over her as she remembered it wasn't a dream. She really had been kidnapped, by...who? She vaguely recalled the guy who grabbed her saying something about a Dr. Quintus...now why did that sound familiar? Oh, yes! She had robbed him blind a while back; perhaps that was why he took her. Her thoughts were interrupted as an expensively dressed one-armed man strode into the room, wearing a sinister sneer.

"Well, look who's finally awake! You slept well, I trust?" Quintus asked with mock politeness.

"Quintus," she growled in reply. "Why have you taken me here?"

"Ah, right to the point, I see! Alright, well, if you insist on asking, I've taken you here because I know that you happen to be quite close to Mr. Eliot Spencer. This is true, yes?" he said, seeming for all the world like a polite host making conversation. Parker nodded cautiously. "Well, I realized this and thought to myself, "What's the best way to get revenge on Spencer?" The obvious answer was you, my dear.

"You see, years ago, when I was still operating my business, Spencer was sent to kill me. He failed, but he cut off my arm and shut down my business. Now I'm a mob kingpin here in New York. I spent years gaining the resources I needed to exact my revenge, and I am finally able to! The fact that you robbed me of nearly everything I had left shortly after that incident only fueled me further."

Parker, unable to keep her mouth shut as usual, said, "What exactly do you want from him? Money? A robotic arm?"

Quintus chuckled. "Well isn't it obvious? I am going to trade your life for his, and maybe torture the rest of them along the way a bit, too." Parker turned an unhealthy shade of gray.

"He'll never go for that, you know. He doesn't care about me! Not at all! In fact, we just had this really big fight and I don't think he likes me anymore. So, you should probably just give me back and find a different way to exact your revenge," she said desperately. He just laughed and shook his head.

"Silly Parker, that's not how things work!" he told her as if chastising a naughty puppy. "I'm going to call your team now, and give them my demands. If you say a word without me telling you to, I swear to God you will pay for it dearly." He took out his phone and dialed a number, presumably the office's. He hit the speaker phone button as it started to ring.

Nate picked up on the fifth ring. "Hello?"

"Nate, my good fellow! How lovely to hear your voice again. I need you to make sure everyone can hear me. Hello, everyone! I'm sure you remember me, yes? So I don't need to introduce myself. Anyways, I have your dear friend Parker. Now, these are my demands: You will deliver Eliot Spencer to the rooftop of the abandoned building off 49th. I, in turn, shall deliver Parker when I have Spencer. I also require everything that was stolen from me returned. Assuming you've sold everything that wasn't liquid cash, I shall need however much you received for it. If these demands aren't met within ten days, I will kill her. Are we clear?" Quintus asked, keeping up a sickly sweet persona.

"DON'T! PLEASE, DON'T DO ANYTHING HE ASKS!" Parker screamed. Quintus whipped around, glaring at her.

"I said, no talking!" he yelled as he struck her across the face. She cried out. "You will pay for that." He motioned to one of his henchmen, snarling into the phone, "She's alive, as you can see, but if you do not agree to these demands she will not remain so."

"Don't you dare touch her!" Eliot growled into the phone. "We'll do what you want, but do not so much as pull her hair or so help me God…" He was growing scared of this guy. He sounded completely insane, and he didn't want Parker to get hurt.

"I can do whatever I please, Eliot. It's a shame you aren't here, really," Quintus commented.

"And why is that?" came the reply. He chuckled.

"Because, dear Eliot, you have a track record for playing with fire," He said evilly. Everyone recognized the familiar whoosh and crackle of a torch. Eliot paled visibly. Quintus laughed maniacally, saying "Ten days." Then all that could be heard through the phone was Parker's agonizing screams.

"Oh, god," Eliot said as the line finally went dead. "We need to get her out, now! I'll call him and tell him we have everything, then hand myself over." It was sounding better and better. He couldn't let Parker sit there and suffer any longer. The madman had torched her! If she wasn't dead, she was in a lot of pain, and he couldn't stand for that.

"Eliot, we are not going to hand you over, okay? I have a plan," Nate said calmly. When he looked dubious he added, "I promise we will get Parker out of there. What we are going to do is what we do best: con him. Sophie, how's your traitorous backstabber?"

"Um, good, I guess? I can pull it off," she replied, confused.

"Great. So, we are going to send Sophie to Quintus, make it seem like she was scared of what he would do. You're a powerful ally, he won't say no.

"Hardison, you are going to somehow create counterfeit money to give to Quintus. Make it convincing enough so he won't question it, but still detectable by the police.

"Eliot, you are going to be our trade. We're going to stage it somehow, so that both you and Parker come back. For now, though, you are going to be our source of information on Quintus."

"Quintus went to med school, but he got kicked out for trying to practice on illegal exotic animals. He used the knowledge he had to start an illegal liposuction business, but that went out the window when I cut off his arm a while back. Now, he's a mob kingpin in New York, and a rich one at that. Everyone fears him, so he's gained quite a large group of loyal henchmen. Word is that he was institutionalized a few years ago, but broke out and has been even more unstable since…basically, he's a revenge-bent, clinically insane criminal who has possession of Parker," Eliot said with worry etched into his face. Nate nodded thoughtfully.

"Which means he'll be reckless, do anything to get his revenge. Hardison, I also need you to come up with some sort of fake gunshot contraption. Alright, is everyone clear on what they need to do?" Nate asked. Everyone nodded. He smiled cunningly. "Well, then. Let's go steal us a teammate!"

 **Quintus's Lair:**

It had been roughly an hour since Quintus had made the call to her teammates, since she had broken his little rule of silence, and, true to his word, he had made her pay. Her arms and chest were covered in burns from his torch, and one or maybe both of her legs were broken. She could hardly think straight through the haze of pain, but one thought sounded loud and clear: _Eliot could not give himself up for her._ She could not let him do that, so for now she would just have to suffer through this. Maybe she could do some sort of "miracle escape" thing when the ten days were up…Her thoughts were interrupted by what seemed to be a large penguin waddling into the room. Or was it a turkey? She blinked, trying to clear her head. The penguin turned into Quintus. She slumped in her chair. Was he here to beat her again? He didn't seem to have any weapons; he must have been there to gloat. He grinned, suddenly having a striking resemblance to a shark.

"Guess who I just got off the phone with?" he asked like an excited little kid. She kept her eyes downcast and didn't answer. He frowned at her lack of enthusiasm. "Sophie Devereaux! She said she was unwilling to risk her life trying to protect the rest of your little team. That she was worried she would end up like you. Told me she would rather be on the winning side of things. So, I'm meeting with her tomorrow. Prepare yourself, this time I will not tolerate any sort of rule breaking." Quintus told her as he strode back out of the room.

Parker couldn't believe her ears. Sophie, a backstabbing traitor? Sure, she'd left before, but that was just to vacation. There was no way Sophie would…she smiled. Of course! She was grifting. This was all an elaborate con; the team really was getting her out!

Sophie hung up the phone and smiled a bit wickedly. He had bought it. She could tell by his reaction: thinly veiled suspicion tied with a childlike giddiness. She strode into the conference room, announcing, "He bit! I'm meeting up with him tomorrow at his warehouse, where he happens to be keeping Parker."

Nate smiled. "How'd you do it?" She shrugged.

"I improvise a bit." His smile vanished.

"What did you say, Sophie?" Nate groaned.

"I just promised him the money when we met, that's all!" Sophie exclaimed, miffed. Nate breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, that's all? We have the money already."

"Is there anything else you need, Sophie?" Eliot butted in. She shook her head. "Good," he grunted. He drew her away from the group, into his office.

"I need you to promise me that you'll get her out alive, Sophie," he growled with sudden intensity.

"Eliot, I can try, but with these things…" she trailed off. Growling, he put his fist through the wall.

"I need you to promise! I can't…I don't know what I would do if she-she ended up…" he choked out. Letting out a small sob, he said in his gruff voice, "I can't stand it, knowing she's in there!" Sophie hugged him, murmuring sympathetically.

"I don't like it any more than you do, Eliot," Sophie told him. He looked at her through teary eyes.

"Then promise me," he pleaded. She nodded.

"I promise I will get her out safely."


	2. Chapter 2

Eliot had finally managed to squirm away from the pitied looks of his teammates, and headed home.

It was painful, coming home with no Parker there. Usually, they would leave separately, and Parker would jump into his arms the second he walked through the door. He knew he should eat, but he couldn't bring himself to walk into the kitchen and prepare food. Parker had always loved watching him cook, jokingly complaining about the amount of vegetables. He sighed at the bittersweet memory.

Deciding against food, he instead decided to go downstairs to punch something, blow off some steam. He attacked the bag as if it had taken Parker until his knuckles bled, but it didn't help to quell the wave of fury and despair steadily growing inside of him. Eliot sank to the ground, letting loose the tears that had been threatening to fall all day. He cried until there were no more tears, leaving dry sobs in their place. When he fell asleep that night, he dreamed of Parker, dying in front of his eyes over and over.

Sophie flitted around Nate's detailed map worriedly. He came up behind her, gently placing his hands on her shoulders to calm her. "You need to calm down, Sophie. It's going to be fine," he told her. She stared at him as if he were crazy.

"It's going to be fine? How can you say that?! Parker's being tortured by a madman, and I can't do anything about it without blowing my cover! Of course I'm worrying!" Sophie screamed.

"I'm just saying not to worry as much. I have a sound plan, and we will get her out!" Nate said forcefully. Sophie dearly hoped he was right, otherwise Parker was left to a fate worse than death.

Hardison sat back in defeat. He had spent the last two hours digging in the darkest corners of the internet, and had found nothing beyond what Eliot had told him. He wasn't even sure if what Eliot had told them was correct, that was how little he found. To be honest, he was a little ticked off a Eliot. Hardison had admitted to Eliot that he really liked Parker, three months ago, and Eliot had said nothing about their relationship. All those times Hardison had flirted with her, and even asked her out once, Eliot had still said nothing. He could've saved Hardison a lot of pain and rejection if he had said something, but he didn't. Yeah, he got that Eliot was hurting, but he couldn't help but be the tiniest bit angry.

 _Oh God, am I dead? It feels like I might actually be dead._ Parker thought. Quintus had adopted a new form of torture, by dumping what felt like hundreds of gallons of water on her head as she was blindfolded. He must have drowned her and now she was dead. But that wouldn't explain why everything still hurt so much...the dead didn't hurt, did they? It also wouldn't explain the steady drip of water now on her forehead, which had started out a little annoying but now it was incredibly painful. It was still about two hours until Sophie, her savior, was due to arrive. She hoped Sophie would be able to get her out of this.

Sophie studied herself in the mirror, satisfied. She'd gone for the subtly(ish) sexy look, but still a wide eyed and scared young woman seeking protection. She was wearing her navy blue pleated dress and red Stilletos, with dark makeup and a pretty up-do. At that moment, Nate walked in, whistling.

"Well, don't you look..nice?" he said with an odd catch in his voice.

Sophie, noticing this, asked worriedly, "What? Does it make me look fat? Does it clash?" Nate, immediately realizing and regretting his mistake, scrambled to cover it up.

"No! No, you look beautiful as always...I'm just reluctant to send you away to Quintus, where you're away from me!" She looked at him disbelievingly, and opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, he pulled her into a slow kiss. She smiled against his lips, deciding to let it slide, and melted into him. Even with Parker where she was, it was hard not to enjoy their moments together. "You are so beautiful," Nate murmured when he pulled away. She smirked.

"I'll miss you. Is there any way to shorten this?" she asked in reply. Nate shook his head.

"No, but I can make it worth it when you get back," he replied coyly. She smiled.

"Alright, I can live with that. I'd better get going...is there anything else?"

"Yeah, this," Nate said as he kissed her again. "But you're right,you should go. I'll see you when you get back. Please be safe."

"Of course I'll be safe. I love you," she said as she walked over to the door.

"Love you too!" Nate replied. And with that, Sophie walked out the door, ready to to face whatever it was that Quintus was prepared to throw at her. Well, she thought she was ready, but as it turns out, she was nowhere near ready for what lay before her.

 _Parker's running through a dense fog, terror and adrenaline coursing through her veins. There is a bright light ahead; it's what she seems to be running at. As she gets closer, she realizes that it's Eliot, holding a gun. For some reason this gives her an odd sense of foreboding. She reaches him and nearly collapses into his arms._

 _"We need to move, now," Eliot growled as he pulled on her arm. She shakes her head, suddenly certain that whoever this is, it's not her Eliot. He sighed, offering a slight smile. "I guess you caught me." Then, he morphs into a grotesque version of Quintus and attacks her. She screams and starts running again, but he is too fast. He catches her and starts ripping her apart._

She woke up drenched in a cold, shaky sweat from her dreams. These kind of dreams haunted her every night. A strangely familiar voice drifted down the hall. Realization, along with excitement, dawned on her. It was Sophie! She was here to save her! This knowledge gave her the strength to lift her head all the way, yet again start searching for a way to escape.

Quintus led her down the hall, explaining along the way what his plan was (in a nutshell). Sophie nodded her head along with the conversation, but her mind was elsewhere, obviously. She wasn't sure if she was ready to handle what Quintus had done to Parker, but she really didn't see how there was any way she could avoid it. Maybe she could fake an aneurysm or something. The thought came too late, as Quintus had just stopped in front of a large iron door, leading to what she hoped was the room where Parker was.

"This is where the first test will be," Quintus said with a sweeping gesture towards the door. Inside the room was hidden in shadows, with a still, slumped figure sitting in the middle, cuffed to a chair. The chair seemed to be the only thing holding the person up. Sophie's eyes grew adjusted to the darkness, and she realized with horror, that the broken figure was Parker. Quintus walked up behind her, pressing something cold and sharp into her hand.

"I want you to try and get Parker to tell me anything about Eliot Spencer. Use this, for as long as necessary," he told her. She looked down, and, realizing it was a small razor blade, could barely hold back a gasp of horror. Quintus wanted her to "prove her loyalty" by intentionally hurting Parker? Could she do that?

And what would that even prove? That she was willing to mutilate one of her dearest friends? No. Quintus wasn't that stupid, not by a long shot. It was a test, she decided.

"No. We need her alive and at least a bit well in order for Eliot to hand himself over. Plus, I can tell you anything you need to know about him. Besides, what does it prove to you if I'm willing to hurt one of my friends? Nothing. It proves nothing,"Sophie stated a bit angrily. Quintus looked confused for a moment, then broke into a wide smile.

"Exactly. I'm glad to know I didn't over-estimate you. Now, I will be right back," he said calmly. Turning to his guards, he barked, "Watch them!" And with that, he strode out of the room, leaving Sophie to stand awkwardly with a half-conscious Parker and her guards.

Meanwhile, Nate and Hardison (Eliot was still at home, having been unable to get out of bed) were back at headquarters, trying desperately not to freak out. Hardison tapped furiously on his keyboard, apparently distracting himself with a World of Warcraft game, and Nate was attempting to stay busy. Soon, the apartment was spotless, Hardison had grown tired of his game, and there was nothing left to do except face the problem at hand.

"So...how do you think they're doing? Should we check up on them?" Hardison asked after a maddening silence. Nate shook his head.

"No. Need I remind you what could happen if we tried something so risky?" he said pointedly.

"But what if we just-" Hardison started.

"No, Hardison! I'm already worried enough without you trying to think of ways to put them in more danger! Look, just go back to your game and let's not talk about it," Nate replied hotly. Hardison blinked, not used to Nate acting this way. Slowly, he nodded, realizing exactly what Nate was going through. He and Sophie had been playing cat and mouse for years, and now he had finally caught up to her. While he had just a little school-boy crush, Nate had only just been able to be with the girl he loved. And now she was someplace completely disconnected from the rest of them. He sighed, nodding his head, and went into the kitchen to make some food.

 **Later that day...**

Quintus laid on his extravagant bed, all euphoria from the previous day gone. While it was true he was glad to be moving along with is plans, finally, the reason for this burning desire for revenge had been nagging at him all day. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to get lost in his memories.

 _"Who sent you?" hissed Quintus, snake-like._

 _Eliot Spencer replied, "Someone who very much wants you dead."_

 _He rested his hand lightly on the gun in his belt, debating. No. It wasn't a good idea to shoot first and ask questions later. He tried to keep the little conversation they had going._

 _"Well, that is a very, very long list of people. Would you mind being a tad more specific?" he sneered. Eliot smirked._

 _"Nope," he said, charging. Quintus rolled to the side, pulling out the gun, which Eliot knocked out of his hand quickly and easily, whilst simultaneously pulling out a large switchblade. He pinned the struggling man down, plunging the blade into his shoulder._

 _He gasped as fiery, white-hot pain blinded him. Dimly, he registered sirens in the background. It seemed the cops were a lot closer than he thought, as withing minutes they were kicking down the door, and Eliot was gone._

 _The next month or so was a blur of arm amputations, arrests, and jailbreaks. And then, the only thing that he remembered was hate, and a lust for revenge..._


End file.
